The Changeover Trident and myself do a quarter by quarter breakdown of both the men’s and ladies’ draws of Roland Garros. Predictions, laughs and some other goofy things you might not have noticed.

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This week we talk hot topics of Rome including Rafa’s dominance and his fans, the Jerzy Train on track again, and the fun frustration of Benoit Paire. Apologies for the lateness due to technical difficulties.

This week we plan to preview Roland Garros soon after the draw is up. Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes (it comes right to your telephone! Technology!) If you like it, give us a rating and even a review and we will love you forever. Also, check out the always great The Changeover and all of its lovely members: @linzsports, @juanjo_sports and @AmyFetherolf .

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This week we touched on Serena and Rafa cruising, Djokovic and Federer’s disappointment, Stan’s glory and what makes Madrid a strange, sometimes unlikeable tournament.

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes (it comes right to your telephone! Technology!) If you like it, give us a rating and even a review and we will love you forever. Also, check out the always great The Changeover and all of its lovely members: @linzsports, @juanjo_sports and @AmyFetherolf .

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Stan toughed out the second set against Grigor Dimitrov. From 1-1 in the third set, Stan cranked out five straight games and won almost every close point to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

It was one of the most impressive, dominant sets of tennis I’ve seen anyone play all season. Dimitrov lost a bit of energy and his spin on the ball was setting up the ball wonderfully for Stan who was absolutely crushing it. Most importantly, he was aware of when he was in a defensive position and was able to hit the ball into an appropriate space (or even just slice it) as well as recognize when he had hit a good shot and could safely wrong foot Dimitrov via a powerful ground stroke. Masterful stuff. Enjoy the highlights.

Sloane doesn’t want to be friends with Serena, Jimmy Connors causes an uproar, and some cool people won some tennis tournaments. We debate it all in what might be the best Changeover podcast yet.

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes (it comes right to your telephone! Technology!) If you like it, give us a rating and even a review and we will love you forever. Also, check out the always great The Changeover and all of its lovely members: @linzsports, @juanjo_sports and @AmyFetherolf .

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When you look up “boss” in the dictionary, this is the picture that shows up

I’ve been running a 10 part segment “A Beginner’s Guide to Tactics” designed to open up a deeper discussion on strategy and tactics in the modern game, and is a window into how I attempt to analyze what I see. I decided what better way to illustrate this than eat what I’m serving. Here’s a breakdown of the Munich final.

Tommy Haas beat Philip Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6(3) to take the Munich title, losing one set in his four matches at the tournament. Haas put together a complete performance to down Ivan Dodig in the semifinal and backed it up once again to take the title. Haas’ excellent movement, depth and honest variety have him looking a formidable all court player heading into Roland Garros. Here’s how he went about his business in the final.

1. Pick a Player – Tommy Haas

2. Attacking Wing

Tommy wasn’t necessarily looking to breakdown a wing of Kohlschreiber as they both match up quite well to each other with single handed backhands. This strategy is less common on clay. Tommy’s backhand was targeted by Kohlschreiber later into the second set, where he looked more comfortable and patient. Haas was sometimes pushed out wide in these scenarios and forced to loop his backhand back in short, which Kohls attacked brilliantly.

3. Unforced Errors

Boneheaded errors were almost entirely vacant in Haas’ game – he was playing that well. Patterns of unforced errors didn’t show themselves (also a bit less common on clay).

4. Space

Tommy and Kohls are both good moving, one handed backhand righties. The backhand was the battle ground, and an interesting one. Haas struggled when pushed wide to the backhand, as noted above. However, in points he was controlling, particularly on his serve, he did an excellent job of ripping the backhand or even running around to the cross court and keeping it to Kohls’ backhand.

Haas’ pattern of play is incredibly aggressive, but never in search for incredible out right winners, which worked wonderfully with his fantastic movement. In other words, Haas is looking to push the ball left to right with consistency but without line painting winners. He doesn’t go down the line with the backhand often, but that was fine against Kohlschreiber, as it usually meant he was returned with an attackable ball off of Kohls’ backhand. Haas also did an incredible job of varying his play slightly. He used the slice a bit more in the second set (similarly to how he played Dodig in the semifinals) which would cause a more traditional grinding clay point. The odd, well placed drop shot kept Kohlschreiber even more honest, and largely led to Haas controlling rallies.

5. Pace

One cannot simply play aggressive tennis without some raw tools behind their shots, and Haas had that. Haas is cranking the ball at the moment, and was looking to pound the forehand on anything that sat up well for him. He did this particularly well earlier in the first set. Again, running around the forehand worked because he was able to hit it with enough pace to keep Kohls well on the run.

6. Depth

Haas gets top marks for depth, once again. Consistent depth is so key to playing attacking tennis on clay. If you don’t have it, it can allow an opponent back into a rally too easily due to the speed of the courts. Haas was even winning points simply by hammering it so deep at Kohls that he was handcuffed and had no response. As noted, the ball wasn’t sailing and causing needless unforced errors, so he was able to confidently keep the ball deep.

7. Height/Slice

Largely covered, but one handed backhands can be a real pain on clay. When the ball flies up, it leaves the player forced to float a backhand in short, or attempt to slice. If it isn’t high enough, a floating backhand is the only option and Haas was caught having to do this several times. This is nothing new, but a definite exploitable part of his game for future opponents. He mixed in slices wonderfully and backed them up appropriately by patiently slicing until he was afforded a ball he could do something with. It was also done enough that it didn’t become too predictable for Kohls.

8. Spin/Conditions

Not much to say here. Lovely, warm day that probably sped things up and definitely played to Tommy’s hand.

9. Serve

Tommy’s placement of his serve was incredible. Just like Nadal slices his left serve out wide on the ad court (serving to his right) Haas did the same with his righty serve, slicing out on the deuce court (serving to his left). Kohls was forced into reaching for a lot of forehands that came weakly back and Haas very rarely lost a point in which he got a good wide serve out to the deuce court.

His ad court serving was less predictable, but typically down the T. This usually looked like Haas’ better serve, regardless of his opponent, but kept things a bit closer. Kohls largely chopped it back centrally, sometimes to effect. Haas did an excellent job of doing something with his opponents return, particularly with a forehand to the ad court (much like Nadal does, but opposite due to handedness). Haas wasn’t interested in wasting time or getting involved in centrally located, grinding rallies and used his first shot after the serve wonderfully.

10. Return

Haas isn’t a terrible returner, but as can be expected, his one handed backhand was often exposed, particularly on the ad court. That said, he had some fantastic forehand returns and could create a bit off of some second serves. Not great, not bad.

New to tennis tactics? Curious how you can analyze a match? Wondering why your favourite player tends to win or lose against a specific style of opponent? You’ve come to the right place. The following is part 8 of the 10 Point Beginners Guide to Tennis Tactics. The explanation of the segment can be found above, as well as all other 10 parts as they are completed and archived.

In all honesty, this aspect may be the least significant of all 10, but should not be ignored in extreme cases. It is also something that is almost entirely a mechanical issue that may limit or help a player and is not necessarily a strategical decision. In other words, it is something we should keep an eye on, but should not expect to see a player largely tamper with.

It doesn’t take even the most amateur of tennis player to realize there are many ways to hit a tennis ball. How one holds a racquet, how one approaches the ball, where the intended target is all effect how and where the ball go. While almost all of the previous segments to this were a question of “where” the ball was hit, this section is purely a “how”.

Let’s take a look at this:

If you’ve never played tennis, had a tennis coach, or seen a video like this, it may come as a bit of a revelation. That’s okay! In full motion, shots look almost like a baseball swing – the ball comes into the zone, the hitter makes contact, and what happens after is largely unimportant.

Baseball players, however, hit the ball when it is level with their body at a perpendicular angle. This is how tennis used to be played. A quick look around on outdoor courts on a Sunday afternoon will show you that many people still hit the ball this way (perhaps without realizing it). There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, it’s just not the most effective and creates very little spin (the face of the racquet is flat).

In the video above, you will notice Federer’s stance is quite open. He is at more of a 45 degree angle to the ball than a 90 degree angle. And of course, the most important aspect of the shot is his wrist. His stance means that he makes contact with the ball in front of him, and his wrist is already moving before the ball comes to him. It allows him to almost “sweep” over the ball. This is where topspin comes from – the angle at which the racquet is when it hits the ball, and the movement of the wrist. Of course, Federer is probably the best in the history of humanity at making this shot look incredibly simple.

Of course, players are rarely thinking that they need to be putting more or less spin on the ball, they’re simply thinking about where they want to hit it and attempting to execute the best action to make that happen. The instance where this is likely to be a conscious decision is in difficult weather.

Likely the funniest thing I have ever seen in a press conference was in Toronto in 2011. Serena Williams had just defeated Julia Goerges in a pretty tight match out on a windy centre court. A reporter asked if Serena had to try to hit the ball with less spin in order to keep the wind from effecting it. “Oh honey, you don’t watch much tennis, do you?” was her response. She then went on to explain on why this isn’t the case. In the wind, more spin (rotations of the ball) help it cut through the elements and keep the ball’s intended path true. With less spin, the wind can force the ball into spinning in different ways and effect its path. In this case, players will make a conscious decision to add more spin to their shots (and serves). To see how this might be a disadvantage to a player, simply see the other 9 sections.

To a lesser extent, the humidity and feel of a place might effect a player’s effectiveness depending on how they hit the ball. Andrea Petkovic on the always excellent No Challenges Remaining podcast talked about how she preferred Miami to Indian Wells. She hits the ball particularly flat. In Miami there is much more humidity, which will slow the ball down in the air. She felt this allowed her to really hit through the ball and not have to worry about it sailing long. Conversely, she might make the conscious decision to add more spin to the ball in Indian Wells, where the air is much drier.

Rafael Nadal will likely never change his approach and his incredibly top spin heavy forehand. Nadal likes the ball to fly through the air unaltered by the elements so it can spin and then bounce to its maximum ability once reaching his opponents side. In theory, Nadal would be the opposite to Petkovic in that he would prefer the desert air of Indian Wells to the humidity of Miami, and his results in both tournaments would confirm that theory to be true. Likewise, Nadal’s heavy amounts of spin would allow him to survive any windy conditions, but may also take away his spin as a weapon.

Lastly, one of the most interesting parts of Patrick McEnroe’s book “Hardcourt Confidential” was a small note that has stuck with me. He argued that the largest difference between the men’s and women’s game was not down to physical strength or speed, but wrist strength. The wrist strength needed to snap the wrist through the ball to create immense top spin (nevermind Nadal or Federer levels) is incredible. Anyone who has played tennis for a solid hour and tried to put a good amount of spin on a ball will tell you that their hand felt like it might fall off by the end of it. When we see Nadal “muscle” in a defensive, spinning forehand it is not down entirely to his arm strength, it’s own to what his wrist can handle. This is in no way intended to be sexist, and as a smaller guy, I can confidently say there are simply some people built stronger (of course training can help). It also might explain why some bigger hitting WTA players struggle to spin balls in while running and on the defensive – it might not be a plausible option that they can repeat over and over without becoming tired or in pain (I know I can’t). Food for thought.

Nadal is the king, Sharapova is the queen, and Amy would rather watch bowling than tennis. Schiavone, Rosol, and we make some picks for the week ahead.

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes (it comes right to your telephone! Technology!) If you like it, give us a rating and even a review and we will love you forever. Also, check out the always great The Changeover and all of its lovely members: @linzsports, @juanjo_sports and @AmyFetherolf .

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New to tennis tactics? Curious how you can analyze a match? Wondering why your favourite player tends to win or lose against a specific style of opponent? You’ve come to the right place. The following is part 7 of the 10 Point Beginners Guide to Tennis Tactics. The explanation of the segment can be found above, as well as all other 10 parts as they are completed and archived.

Roger Federer vs. Igor Andreev, Round 1, Australian Open, 2010. A match I remember well.

Early in the first set of the match, Federer’s backhand is terrible. Not only is it placed badly, it is hit well over the net which causes it to bounce high. The ball sits up for Andreev, and he is able to hammer it down, into the court as easy as he likes. Andreev takes the first set rather convincingly.

Naturally, this would not last forever. Federer managed to use his slice to pin Andreev into the corner and eventually exhaust and doom the poor Russian.

In my opinion, the height of the ball coming off the bounce may be one of the most underrated parts of the game in terms of how much it is noticed. Watch this:

By this point in the second set, Federer has realized his looping backhands from defensive positions simply won’t work. He goes to the slice, and the ball is kept low. Instead of it bouncing up into Andreev’s wheel house, the ball is around his waist, and he is forced to hit it cross court over the lowest part of the net. This quickly becomes an excellent example of Federer counter punching space (as mentioned in previous segments). Federer is simply waiting for Andreev to go up the line with the forehand. His slices are so low that the impatient shot from Andreev is terrible, and leaves him stranded in the middle of the court, suddenly at the mercy of Federer. Roger puts him out of his misery with an excellent forehand up the line.

The rest of this clip is simply highlights, but does at times illustrate how Federer uses his slice as an effective defensive tool, as well as how he is sometimes burned by backhands that don’t go anywhere and sit up wonderfully for Andreev.

Federer continues to use this tactic beautifully on grass, and is one of the main reasons he is the greatest grass player of all time. The low height of the ball does not bother him, and his tremendous racquet speed allows him to whip balls up and over the net into deep positions from either wing. A player such as Roberta Vinci is similarly an interesting player to watch. She uses a backhand slice consistently and effectively. How the match plays out can often be up to how her opponent deals with this height and where they place the ball in response to this shot. Height matters.

Of course, height can work in the opposite way as well. Robin Soderling seems like the least likely guy to find great success on clay. A power player, and not a man of incredible speed, footwork or defense. However…

Clay is obviously a slower surface, and slows a power player’s shots down. However, the ball is slower from opponents shots and still bounces to a nice height. The above point is an excellent example of why Soderling is so good on clay. The ball slows down and sits up; a perfect combo for a guy with lumbering footwork looking to clobber the ooze out of the ball. Similarly, even when he is caught out at one point, Federer fails to put him away (where he likely would have on a faster surface), Soderling plays a little defense, and then clobbers a beautiful, unplayable backhand down the line. Opponents weapons are often neutralized by the surface, and longer rallies simply mean more balls for Soderling to punish and control the rally from.

Height can also explain why bigger, power hitting players have more success on a slow, high bouncing clay than a fast, low bouncing grass. Despite grass being fast, the low bounces kill taller players how struggle to scoop out low bounces, and the speed of the court exposes their movement in longer rallies – all exact opposites of the Soderling points above. Juan Martin del Potro immediately comes to mind. It also might help to explain why Ivan Lendl managed to win three Roland Garros titles and not one Wimbledon title (despite making two finals). Food for thought.

Lastly, Rafael Nadal is an excellent example of how height can be used to punish opponents. His spinning, cross court forehand bounces up to incredible levels. Against a right handed player, this would be to the backhand. If the player is shorter (hello, David Ferrer), it is even more devastating. These players are forced to reach and simply chop it back over the net. Against Rafael Nadal, you can probably guess how this is going to end.

In summary, the height of the ball is not a serious factor for most players, but can be if one player is dramatically altering the height of the ball through slicing, or high bouncing forehands. Surfaces can also greatly alter the height of the ball to the benefit or determent of particularly tall or short players.

Watch for the height of the ball, and embrace lower angle cameras!

In this episode, we talk Djokovic’s fitness, where Nadal is at, winners, losers, and a bit of Fed Cup.

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes (it comes right to your telephone! Technology!) Also, check out the always great The Changeover and all of its lovely members: @linzsports, @juanjo_sports and @AmyFetherolf .

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